Hogan and Angle: Their Legacy and Folly

Hey EWN. Been a lurker for a while and thought it was time to join the community as ive been enjoying reading the blogs and threads here more and more. Hope i'm sticking to the rules.

This is about TNA's Kurt Angle and Hulk Hogan and the image the IWC has of them now.

I typically don't watch TNA. But will stay up on monday nights til 4am to watch monday night raw live as i'm in the UK. As almost every tuesday im left disappointed and tired from what i've seen the night before; I actually want TNA to develop to a point where WWE recognises its real competition and steps up it's game. And put the brakes on wrestlmania soon becoming renamed 'entertainmentmania'

Hope thats a nice set up for me explaining what I see from Kurt Angle and Hulk Hogan when i flick to TNA during the long wait til 2am.

Kurt Angles jump to TNA I must say is the biggest shock move that way espeially as it has a reputation for a WWE graveyard. As a main eventer in WWE it was a big big deal, for me especially, and actually made me consider checking out what TNA is about. While at that time it wasn't for me, at least it got me aware of it even if i dismissed it.

Fast forward to The Hulk Hogan Press conference at MSG and the next time I opened my eyes to TNA's product. Promising to bring wrestling back to what it was in terms of natual promo's. A big but obvious statement, but the momentum he's offered TNA in terms of awareness, and in becoming a more accessible product (maybe not everyones desired direction for TNA) has been steady.

While Angles image has been tarnished by his comments and actions outside of the squared circle. His twitter 'hack', his DUI's, His wannabe storytale return to olympics. He still has been nothing but the greatest ever servant for TNA. He has gone through divorce, through to working with his ex everyweek for the good of the company. It can't be easy to be put in a situation where your personal life is being played out as if a soap opera for the world to see. But for the good of the company he has worked with it. And the feud with Jarrett has been one of the longest while still remaining watchable because of the realism it has connected to it. He has also elevated the legacy of characters like Samoa Joe and Styles. Even though right now TNA has put their involvement on the back burner. The legacy has definitely built because of Angles work with them. The aura and history these TNA developed wrestlers have has been elevated. Because their feuds have been back and forth, as Angle had professionally put his ego aside for just twitter rants to help generate more stars for the company by being able to be put over.

Rolling back to his time in WW...F, You could only see an impressive worker. A heel most of his career, booed and 'you suck, what?!' chanted to oblivion. He has always worked and worked. And i think thats why Vince was happy to release him on his request. Because of what he has selflessly given to the company. Only difference now is its a contribution to the entire sport.

Hulk Hogan is a different story but i am looking at his positive impact now. I enjoy the new free natural promo's. I enjoy the backstage filming on impact. And as a matter of personal taste i like that the gimmicky 6 sided ring is gone. It's more pure now and looks like a product. A better product is what will entice people to tune in. Like i mentioned before. The accessibility of TNA has increased and that is because of Hogans input. I don't think its questionable that he was the 'main man' to take wrestling to mainstream awareness 'brother'. So in hiring a man that helped the sport evolve the way it has you can only ask that he help develop a growing company through his experience. It shows TNA's mission was to infact become more accessible and that shows that's is why Dixie hired him. Much like a manager creates the style of play of their team. The chairman will hire the manager based on their style in the first place. The ratings may not be there yet but its content has been transformed in the way it should.... if.... you want it to be more accessible.

Maybe his ego is ridiculous. It has been for years before TNA. And his personal and family life is just nuts, but he still gets on with the job, and he still has contributed to an industry more than we wish we ever could. But in a time where the internet exposes all of the flaws of a wrestler (my first instinct was to type superstar.. oh dear) It isn't going to be uncommon for personal problems to be hot topics when they appear. All i'm saying is while Angle and Hogan may get on our nerves with their gum flapping and shoot first ask questions later personal life. They deserve our respect for what they have given, and still give, to the sport. In all walks of celebrity life we see tiger woods style affairs and slanderous off the cuff comments that are offensive, but people know to seperate the legacy from the personal character. Why in wrestling is it overly different?

I agree 100% about angle but my main beef with the whole hogan thing is, people credit him like he was some sort of genius that revolutionized the sport. And I'll give it to him that he was the biggest star of the 80s and 90s but I give about 90% of the credit to Vince McMahon. Sure hogan had charisma that people loved but Vince took a guy with a good look, gave him an ultimate face character, and booked him in all the right feuds. Honestly his ring work has always been lousy but when you're booked against a good worker they tend to make you look good as well. Honestly I bet it's impossible to have s bad match with guys like Randy savage. If Vince hadn't given him his character, put him in those feuds then hogan would've been just another big guy, so I don't really see why he'd be the go to guy to revolutionize tna. I mean what has he really done? Knocked a couple turn buckles from the ring, re did the Montreal screwjob and the nwo and gave abyss a super ring.... I know this is a long ass rant so I'll cut to the point now, hogans main appeal these days is due to the nostalgia from the 80s when Vince made him a star. He revolutionized nothing on his own, has bought in to his own hype and is turning a once promising company into wcw 2.0. Hogans should go away and be remembered for the guy he was and stop coasting off it and dragging tna down with him.